Silent butler

ABSTRACT

A base is provided with a first pair of uprights the upper free end portions of which are connected by a garment hanger which forms with the uprights a first frame. A pair of arms is pivoted to the base and at least one connecting element pivotally links the arms to form therewith a parallelogram linkage. At least one second pair of uprights is mounted on the connecting element and has free end portions which are again connected by a second garment hanger forming with them a second frame which is so dimensioned that it can be tilted into and out of the confines of the first frame.

United States Patent [11] 3,722,703 1 Mar. 27, 1973 Domin [54] SILENTBUTLER [76] Inventor: Heinz Domin, Marienburgerstr. 64,

Espelkamp-Mattwald, Germany [22] Filed: Apr. 30, 1971 [21] Appl. No.:138,953

[52] U.S. Cl. ..211/178 R [51] Int. Cl. ..A47f 5/10 [58] FieldofSearch....211/178 R, 38, 85,1,13, 104, 211/170, 171,100,99, 149

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 69,349 10/1867 King et a1..l ..211/178 R 94,567 9/1869 Collins ..211/178 R 1,078,248 11/1913Buchner.. ..211/149 3,189,380 6/1965 Reguitti ..211/178 R PrimaryExaminer-Ramon S. Britts Attorney-Michael S. Striker ABSTRACT A base isprovided with a first pair of uprights the upper free end portions ofwhich are connected by a garment hanger which forms with the uprights afirst frame. A pair of arms is pivoted to the base and at least oneconnecting element pivotally links the arms to form therewith aparallelogram linkage. At least one second pair of uprights is mountedon the connecting element and has free end portions which are againconnected by a second garment hanger forming with them a second framewhich is sodimensioned that it can be tilted into and out of theconfines of the firstframe.

9 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures SILENT BUTLER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to a household aid, and moreparticularly to a silent butler.

Silent butlers are known in a variety of different types. Generallyspeaking they are provided on a support with an upright bar from which apair of trousers may be hung, and with a garment hanger on which a whenthe butler is folded together, each successive frame can be tilted intoand accommodated in the conjacket or similar garment may be hung. Thebar for the trousers is usually vertically oriented and laterally spacedfrom the vertical plane in which the garment hanger is located, by adistance of approximately 20 to 30 cm so that the two will not interferewith one another. The base of the silent butler must of course have acorresponding dimension so that the two componentsthat is the bar andthe garment hangercan be mounted on it.

The trouble with these silent butlers is that when they are not in usethey continue to require the same amount of space as when they are inuse, and in many instances this is undesirable because space, especiallyin modern living quarters, is frequently at a premium.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, accordingly, an object of the presentinvention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior-art silent butlers.

More particularly it is an object of the present invention to provide animproved silent butler which is not possessed of such advantages.

Still more particularly it is an object of the present invention toprovide such an improved silent butler which when not in use can becollapsed or folded to require extremely little space, and which evenwhen erected or folded apart requires a comparatively small floor spacebut will nevertheless stand securely.

A concomitant object of the invention is to provide such an improvedsilent butler which affords support for additional articles or itemsbesides trousers and a jacket, as do the conventional silent butlersknown from the art.

In pursuance of the above objects, and of others which will becomeapparent hereafter, my silent butler in one embodiment comprises,briefly stated, a base and a first pair of uprights on this base. Theuprights have upper free end portions and a garment hanger is providedon these upper free end portions connecting the same and forming withthe first pair of uprights a first frame A pair of arms are pivoted tothe base and at least one connecting element pivotally links the armsand forms therewith a parallelogram linkage. At least one second pair ofuprights is mounted on the connecting element and has free end portionson which there is provided a second garment hanger which forms with thesecond pair of uprights a second frame so dimensioned that it can betilted into and out of the confines of the first frame.

According to a further embodiment of the invention several of theconnecting elements may be provided all of them pivotally linked withboth of the arms, and each of these connecting elements may carry a pairof uprights provided at their upper free ends with additional respectivegarment hangers, and these additional garment hangers each forming withthe associated uprights a further frame which is so dimensioned thatfines of the preceding frame, with the term preceding here referring tothe close proximity to the first-mentioned frame which of course doesnot pivot with respect to the base.

The frames all diverge in upward direction away from the base, and thebase itself is preferably of angleshaped configuration having one leg onwhich the silent butler is supported when it is folded apart ready foruse, whereas the other leg has an adequate size to support the silentbutler when it is folded together. Suitable detent arrangements may beprovided which arrest the silent butler in folded condition and inunfolded condition.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood from the following description of specificembodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a front view of a silentbutler according to the present invention, showing the unit infoldedtogether or collapsed state;

FIG. 2 is aside view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the unit in folded-apartcondition, ready for use;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating a portion of thebutler in folded-together condition; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the portion illustrated in FIG. 4,in folded-apart condition.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Discussing the drawing now indetail it will be seen that in FIGS. 1-5 I have illustrated oneembodiment of my novel butler. It is provided, as the drawing shows,with an angle-shaped base or base plate 2 from which there projectupwardly two uprights l which are connected with a garment hanger 11 anddefine therewith a frame. The ends of the uprights 1 are received insupports 3' and 3". Approximately centrally of the garment hanger 1 thelatter is provided with a dish or similar receptacle 20 in the middle ofwhich there is secured a bent rod 21 to whose ends a non-illustratedtrouser-type hanger may be secured.

The supports 3' and 3" are pivoted by means of pivot pins 13 and 14 withtwo arms 4 and 5 which are of identical length and extend in parallelismwith one another. There are further provided connecting elements 6a 6a",6b, 6b", 6c, 6c", 6d, 6d", 6e and 6e". These connecting elements are allpivoted to the arms 4 and 5 and thus connect the arms together toconstitute a parallelogram linkage. In the plane of the thus-obtainedparallelogram linkage the width of the supports 3 and the connectingelements 6 is twice the width of the arms 4 and 5. The pivot pins 13 and14, as well as pivot pins 15 and 16, secure the connecting elements 6a,etc., to the arms 4 and 5, are laterally offset by the width of the armsas shown in FIG. 5, in order to assure that when the device is foldedtogether (see FIGS. 1 and 4) the outer surfaces of the uprights 1, theconnecting elemetns 6a, etc., and of the arms 4 and will be located orat least substantially located in a common plane.

The base plate 2 is of angular configuration as already pointed out; oneleg 2b thereof is connected to the lower one of the two arms, namely thearm 5,

whereas the other leg 2a extends at a right angle to the leg 2b and isconnected with the latter by a substantially triangular section 12. Inthe plane of the garment hanger 11 the plate 2 has a length which isalmost the equal of the length of the garment hanger 1 1 itself. Thewidth of the leg 2a is sufficiently large to provide an adequate supportfor the silent butler when the latter is collapsed or folded together toassume the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Feet 17 and 18are-provided on the leg 20 and another foot 19 is provided on the arm 5,as is clearly evident from FIGS. 2 and 5.

The connecting elements 6a, etc., are provided with openings 8 in whichthe endportions of brackets or additional garment hangers 7a, 7b, 7c, 7dand 7e are received. These brackets are each so configurated that theyhave two upright lateral portions and a transverse portion connectingthe upper free ends of the lateral portions, approximately in the shapeof an inverted U. They thus combine garment hanger and uprights in one.The frame 70, because this is what these brackets constitute, namelyadditional frames 7a-7e, has a configuration which is so selected thatit can fit into the confines of the opening surrounded by the frameconstituted by the uprights 1 and the garment hanger 11. Thenext-following frame 7b is slightly smaller so that it will fit into thespace surrounded by the frame 7a, and so on to the frame 7e whichadditionally may be provided. with a transverse bar 22 on which a usermay rest his foot while tying or polishing his shoes.

A lever 9 is secured to one end portion of the upper arm 4upper refersto the positioning of the arm 4 above the arm 5-and an abutment 9b ofthe lever 9 may move into engagement with the underside of the leg 2a ofthe base plate 2, whereby the arms 4 and 5 are maintained in thefolded-apart position with respect to the plate 2 and the uprights 1, asshown in FIGS. 2 and 5. When the butler is to be folded together, thelever 9 is raised to disengage the abutment 9b and the arms 4 and 5 canthen be lifted up with respect to the base 2 and the uprights 1, wherebythe arms and the frames 7a-7e will all become folded into the confinesof the frame definedby the uprights 1 and the garment hanger 1 1, as forinstance shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. At the end of the arm 4 opposite thelever 9 there is provided an additional lever l0which has an abutmentcapable of latching engagement with the arm 5, as shown in FIG. 4, whenthe unit is folded together, to thereby prevent the unit from becomingunfolded accidentally.

It will be appreciated that modifications are possible from theexemplary embodiment illustrated herein. Thus, the upper transverseportions of the brackets or frames 7a-7e could be configurated asseparate garment hangers suitably secured to the upright legs of theframes 7a-7e, instead of making them of one piece with these legs as hasbeen illustrated.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofconstructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in asilent butler, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown,since various modifications and structural changes may be made withoutdeparting in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, theforegoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can by applying current knowledgereadily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is:

1. A silent butler, comprising an angle-shaped base member having afirst and a second leg; a first pair of uprights on said base member andhaving upper free end portions, and a garment hanger portion on saidupper free end portions connecting the same and forming with said firstpair of uprights a first frame; a pair of vertically superimposed armspivoted to said base member and at least one connecting elementpivotally linking said arms and forming therewith a parallelogramlinkage; and at least a second pair of uprights mounted on saidconnecting element and having free end portions, and a second garmenthanger portion connecting said free end portions and forming with saidsecond pair of uprights a second frame so dimensioned that it can betilted into and out of the confines of said first frame, said first legof said base member being connected with the lower of said arms andserving together with the same as a support for said butler when saidsecond frame is tilted out of the confines of said frame, and saidsecond leg being dimensioned for supporting said butler when said secondframe is tilted into the confines of said first frame.

2. A silent butler as defined in claim 1; further comprising additionalconnecting elements pivotally linking said arms, all of said connectingelements being spaced from one another longitudinally of said arms; anda plurality of additional pairs of uprights carried by the respectiveadditional connecting elements and forming respective frames each ofwhich is dimensioned so that it can be tilted into and out of theconfines of a preceding frame. v

3. A silent butler as defined in claim 1, wherein said frame eachdiverge in direction away from said base.

4. A silent butler as defined in claim l,.eachof said connectingelements comprising two sections located at and pivotally connected toopposite sides of the respective arms; said upper free end portions ofsaid first pair of uprights and said free end portions of said secondpair of uprights each having openings adapted to receive portions of therespective garment hangers.

5. A silent butler as defined in claim I; further comprising latch meanson one of said arms and operative for effecting latching of said armsagainst tilting of said second frame into said first frame in automaticresponse to tilting of said second frame out of said first frame.

6. A silent butler as defined in claim 5; further comprising a leveroperable for releasing said latch means preparatory to tilting saidsecond frame into said first frame.

comprising mounting means for mounting a trouser holder.

9. A silent butler as defined in claim 8, said mounting means beingprovided on said first garment hanger.

1. A silent butler, comprising an angle-shaped base member having afirst and a second leg; a first pair of uprights on said base member andhaving upper free end portions, and a garment hanger portion on saidupper free end portions connecting the same and forming with said firstpair of uprights a first frame; a pair of vertically superimposed armspivoted to said base member and at least one connecting elementpivotally linking said arms and forming therewith a parallelogramlinkage; and at least a second pair of uprights mounted on saidconnecting element and having free end portions, and a second garmenthanger portion connecting said free end portions and forming with saidsecond pair of uprights a second frame so dimensioned that it can betilted into and out of the confines of said first frame, said first legof said base member being connected with the lower of said arms andserving together with the same as a support for said butler when saidsecond frame is tilted out of the confines of said frame, and saidsecond leg being dimensioned for supporting said butler when said secondframe is tilted into the confines of said first frame.
 2. A silentbutler as defined in claim 1; further comprising additional connectingelements pivotally linking said arms, all of said connecting elementsbeing spaced from one another longitudinally of said arms; and aplurality of additional pairs of uprights carried by the respectiveadditional connecting elements and forming respective frames each ofwhich is dimensioned so that it can be tilted into and out of theconfines of a preceding frame.
 3. A silent butler as defined in claim 1,wherein said frame each diverge in direction away from said base.
 4. Asilent butler as defined in claim 1, each of said connecting elementscomprising two sections located at and pivotally connected to oppositesides of the respective arms; said upper free end portions of said firstpair of uprights and said free end portions of said second pair ofuprights each having openings adapted to receive portions of therespective garment hangers.
 5. A silent butler as defined in claim 1;further comprising latch means on one of said arms and operative foreffecting latching of said arms against tilting of said second frameinto said first frame in automatic response to tilting of said secondframe out of said first frame.
 6. A silent butler as defined in claim 5;further comprising a lever operable for releasing said latch meanspreparatory to tilting said second frame into said first frame.
 7. Asilent butler as defined in claim 1; further comprising arresting meanson one of said arms and operative, on tilting of said second frame intosaid first frame, for preventing undesired tilting of said second frameout of said first frame.
 8. A silent butler as defined in claim 1; andfurther comprising mounting means for mounting a trouser holder.
 9. Asilent butler as defined in claim 8, said mounting means being providedon said first garment hanger.